Hogwarts reads Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by Dumbledore'sWisdom
Summary: 12 students arrive at Hogwarts with 7 books and convince Umbridge to read them to all of Hogwarts and some guests. These books will reveal the truth and bring many people together. Can Hogwarts forgive and forget? Will they figure out who the 12 new students are? What happens after the reading? Please R&R. DISCLAIMER: HP BELONGS TO JKR.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes: Hey readers I hope you like this Prologue. Please Review so i know whether you like it or not. I know it's long but I needed to get a lot of information in the beginning so it wasn't confusing later on.**

**Enjoy x**

* * *

It was four o'clock on a Sunday afternoon and James Potter was sat outside under the shade of a large oak tree next to the black lake. He had been reading Quidditch through the ages when he heard someone snigger behind him. Turning around he saw that nobody was there.

"Show yourself!" James shouted with his wand out ready.

"I'm behind you idiot." James spun around to see his cousin, Teddy Lupin, laughing at him.

"Teddy!" James cried with excitement. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he hugged the 22 year old who hadn't attended Hogwarts in four years. "How did you get here?" He added.

"Ah! Invisibility Cloak." He answered holding up his invisibility cloak. "I'll tell you what I'm doing here when you get the gang. I'll wait here." Teddy wrapped the invisibility cloak around him and sat where James had been sat moments ago.

James ran to the Gryffindor common room where he found Albus and Lily Potter, siblings Rose and Hugo Weasley, Roxanne Weasley, Louis Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy. Louis' sister, Dominique, was a Ravenclaw and their cousin Molly and Lucy Weasley were Hufflepuffs.

"Hey James, what's up?" Scorpius asked when he saw him.

James went over and motioned for the gang to gather round which they did.

"Teddy's outside, he wants to talk to the gang." James whispered to the gang. Many of them had their eyes and mouths open wide in shock.

"How did he get in?" Albus asked obviously confused.

"Invisibility cloak," James answered and everyone nodded in understanding.

"Come on. Rose, go find Molly and Lucy. Louis, go get your sister from the library." The two nodded and they all left the common room.

When they arrived Teddy whipped off his cloak. However he wasn't alone as two other people also whipped off invisibility cloaks.

"Freddie!" yelled Roxanne as she threw herself at her brother and hugged him.

"Hey Roxy," he said as he smiled and hugged his sister back.

Louis and Dominique came running up to them not wanting to miss anything. They stopped and noticed that their sister was there.

"Victorie!" they shouted and flung themselves at their sisters.

"When did you to get here?" James asked confusingly.

"Not long after you left." Teddy answered with a smile.

When Rose, Molly and Lucy arrived they all sat down in a large circle and waited for Teddy to start.

"Me, Victorie and Fred are going back to the past. Who wants to join us?" Teddy spoke in a calm voice that told them he wasn't joking.

"What?" The gang asked in shock.

"Teddy, you have a bad way with word let me explain." Fred said before he began. "Teddy found 7 books about Uncle Harry's entire school career at Hogwarts. Anyway, Teddy came up with a plan to go back to Uncle Harry's 5th year and given Dumbledore the books to read out to the whole school and some guests. We think this will convince people to believe that Voldemort was back then maybe Uncle Harry could have defeated him sooner,"

The gang where now staring in shock at Fred.

"I thought Umbridge was in charge by this time in Uncle Harry's 5th year?" Rose said obviously remembering everything her parents and Uncle Harry had told her.

"How are we going to get back anyway?" Dominique asked with a frown. She hadn't read anywhere about a spell that could take you back to the past and she was a Ravenclaw. She should know this.

"Our parents and family will recognise us because we all have a feature that is like out parents." Louis said whilst looking at his ginger hair that fell in front of his eyes.

"OK, ok, one at a time." Teddy shouted over the top of everyone else's voice. The gang went quite so Teddy continued. "Rose, we'll tell Dumbledore the truth first, then we tell Umbridge but we lie and say the books will prove Harry Potter is lying but she has to read it to the school and the other guest. Dominique, two words…Time Turner. Louis, another two words…Polyjuice Potion." Teddy was now holding up three Time Turners and a large flask of what was assumed to be Polyjuice potion.

"We can't all drink the same polyjuice potion or we'll turn into the same person and we can't be seen drinking out of a flask every hour." Dominique said as if this was obvious.

"I'm a metamorphmagus so if we use my hair you'll become metamorphmagus'." Teddy explained.

"And I made the potion. I accidently made a discovery last year when I was making polyjuice potion for the ministry. If you add the secret ingredient, which I'm not telling anyone, it allows you to say looking like that person until you drink the antidote." Victorie explained to her sister.

"Does it work?" Dominique asked curiously.

Victorie scrunching her face up and turning from a 20 year old blonde haired woman into a 13 year old black haired girl, she smiled before scrunching her face up and turning back to normal. "You really think I wouldn't test it out. I took the potion over two months ago. And yes I've checked the antidote." Victorie looked at her sister who smiled back.

"When are we leaving?" She asked eagerly.

"Well, who wants to come? You don't have to but we wanted to at least offer you the opportunity." Teddy announced.

"What if we get caught?" Molly Weasley asked making James snort.

"Molly, seriously think about who we are." James could see Molly thinking but it didn't look like she understood what he was getting at. He rolled his eyes and thought 'typical Hufflepuff'. "All of us here are either related to the Weasley twins, Harry Potter, a marauder or a sneaky Slytherin by the name Draco Malfoy. Do you understand what I'm saying? Doing things like this is in our blood, we won't get caught and if we do who cares, seriously." Molly looked as if she would care if she got caught.

"It's wrong to break the rules." Molly said proudly.

"It's only wrong if we get caught and to be honest I really don't think anyone besides you cares about getting caught." James said through gritted teeth. Molly was just like her father, Percy Weasley.

"Well I'm not going. Come on Lucy." She said as she walked away.

"No you can't make me." Lucy frowned at her sister.

"Fine but I'm telling Father." Molly smirked.

"Don't, you know he won't like it." Lucy said scared of her father finding out.

"Then come with me now." Molly said still smirking.

"Fine!" her sister shouted before running back up to the castle in tears.

James was glaring at Molly like the rest of the gang were. "That was uncalled for. Just because you don't want to go doesn't mean you have to stop Lucy from going." James said through gritted teeth again.

"Whatever." Molly said before walking back toward the castle.

"Well… we should probably get going." Fred announced awkwardly.

"Yes, we'll drink the potion here." Victorie said as she passed the flask around the circle so everyone could take a sip. It wasn't long before she was stood staring at eleven Teddy Lupin's.

"We're going to tell people we're cousins, so you all need to imagine yourself with brown hair and blue eyes. Concentrate really hard. It would be best if you stayed the same age. Teddy, Fred and I are going to become 5th years to fit in." Victorie explained.

Everyone scrunched their face up in concentration except Teddy. He watched as everyone changed from their usual appearance to something completely different. Victorie then continued.

"We'll need new names similar to our own. I'm Vicky and Teddy is now Ted. James is Jim, Albus is Al, Lily is Lilia, Dominique is Minnie, Louis is Lewis, Fred is Frederick, Roxanne is Anne, Rose is Rosemary, Hugo is Hugh and Scorpius is Scott. Ok?" Victorie asked.

"Yes Vicky." They all answered with a cheeky smile.

"Good. Now we have three time turners so we're going to get into three groups and go back to this date in 1995 and to this location. With me are Minnie, Lewis and Jim. With Ted are Al, Scott and Rosemary. And with Frederick are Anne, Hugh and Lilia." She said.

Everyone got into their groups. The time turner was placed around their necks and turned five times. Suddenly time started going backwards faster and faster and before they knew it their surroundings was just a blur until it abruptly stopped causing everyone to fall onto the grass.

* * *

After standing up they all waited as Victorie, Teddy and Fred transfigured their clothes and the rest of the gang's clothes into Hogwarts uniform before the twelve of them walked up to the castle.

Victorie opened the front door and the gang made their way into the main entrance. They saw that the corridors were very busy with people walking towards the Great Hall which meant it was lunchtime. Victorie led the gang away from the hall and towards the library which gained them some stares from the students.

"How do we find Dumbledore?" Victorie announced to the gang when they sat down at the back of the library.

"He'll probably be in the great hall right now eating lunch." Albus said excitedly standing up. He had always wanted to meet the two men he was named after and now he will get the chance.

"Yes Al but we need to talk to him privately." Victorie explained and Albus sat back down.

"Why don't we wait outside the great hall and catch him as he leaves. We'll tell him we need to speak to him in private and hope he takes us to his office." James suggested.

"I suppose we can do that Jim. It's not like we have any other options is it." Victorie sighed.

The gang got up and left the library and began strolling around the castle. They didn't want to hang around outside the hall for too long and it wasn't as if they could go into the hall and eat because they had never been seen before around Hogwarts.

* * *

Hugo and Lily were walking ahead of the rest of the group talking. They had just turned the corner when suddenly the rest of the gang heard a scream. The gang got their wands out and went around the corner to find a man dressed all in black with greasy black hair and a hooked nose. He was staring down his hooked nose at Hugo and Lily who were both shaking in terror. Victorie recognised the man as Professor Severus Snape. She had seen his portrait in the Headmistresses' office. Victorie needed to act fast before he asked too many questions but it was too late he was already looking past Hugo and Lily straight at the rest of the gang. Victorie was stood at the front with the rest of the gang were stood behind her peering at the Professor.

"Hello Professor." Victorie smiled politely.

"Who are you?" Professor Snape asked softly and slowly looking her directly in the eye with a frown.

"Vicky West, Sir." Victorie answered confidently and convincingly not taking her eyes off the professors.

"I don't recall that name, Miss West. Who are the rest of you?" He asked in the same voice looking at the rest of the gang and noticing a 4th year staring at him in adoration. He glared at him which only made his smile grow. 'There was something wrong with that child' he thought.

"You don't recognise any of us?" Victorie asked faking a confused look perfectly. "Are you feeling alright Sir?"

"Of course I'm alright, Miss West." Snape snapped. "Unfortunately for you and your friends, I don't believe your story and it seem the only way to get a truthful answer would be to take you to the Headmaster's office." Snape looked at them expecting them to argue or at least look angry but they looked happy about it. 'There's something wrong with all of these children' he thought again. "Follow me." He ordered.

Victorie couldn't keep the smile that crept onto her face. She couldn't believe they were being taken to the one place they wanted to go. When they reached the entrance to Dumbledore's office, Snape gave the password 'Curly Wurly' and the statue began to turn and rise. They all stepped and rose with it. Just as Snape was about to knock on the office door a voice came from inside.

"Come in." It was a kind voice and the gang knew it belonged to Dumbledore.

Snape pushed the office door open to reveal the headmaster sat at his desk looking at the door. He smiled when Snape walked in with 12 students behind him. Snape heard the 4th year boy gasp in delight. 'What is wrong with him?' he asked himself.

"Ah, who do you have here?"

"She says she's Vicky West," Snape answered whilst pointing at Victorie and Teddy. "But I don't recognise her or the other eleven."

"I see, well leave them here. Shouldn't you be getting to your next lesson?" Dumbledore asked the other professor. Snape nodded then left shutting the door behind him. Dumbledore then waved his wand and twelve chairs appeared out of thin air. He nodded for them to sit. Dumbledore looked at each face individually before coming to a conclusion.

"I'm afraid I don't recognise any of you. Would you all please tell me your names and why you are here?" He asked kindly.

"Well, we're here to talk to you actually." Teddy chose to answer his second question. However, Dumbledore wasn't looking at him; he was staring straight at Albus who was staring back with a massive grin on his face.

"Al, stop staring. It's strange." James told his brother.

"Erm…Professor, you wanted to know why we're here." Teddy cut in before Albus and James started and argument.

"And what your names are." Dumbledore added finally looking a Teddy with a twinkle in his eye.

"I think I'll explain he has a bad way with words." Fred announced.

"Ok, what is your name?" Dumbledore asked smiling the same smile.

"Erm…that's not important…but we promise to tell you all our names after I've told the story of why we're here." Fred answered nervously.

"That seems fair enough. Carry on." Dumbledore said as he leaned back in his chair ready for the story.

"Basically, we're from the future." Fred started but was interrupted by eleven groans coming from the rest of the gang. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows curiously but didn't interrupt. "Anyway…we're all cousins and siblings… well most of us are cousins or siblings but we've grown up together and we see ourselves as cousins anyway." Dumbledore noticed that Miss West and the boy sat next to her looked at each other nervously but chose not to bring it up. "Ok. So I'm going to assume you know about Voldemort…" Dumbledore noticed that none of the twelve students sat in front of him flinched like most did. "Because who doesn't know about him. Anyway, where we're from, Voldemort had been defeated. However, it was at the cost of so many innocent lives. So many people we never got to know. I think you kind of know what we're doing here…" Fred paused and looked at Dumbledore who nodded.

"You want to change your past and my future to save the lives of the innocent people you never got the chance to know."Dumbledore said a little sadly.

"Yes we do. However we don't know if our plan will work to that extent. We would settle for making people believe Uncle Harry…" Fred paused in shock. Dumbledore looked equally as shocked.

"You idiot, what did you say that for." Teddy shouted as he hit Fred hard across the head. Fred was still in shock; however, Dumbledore had managed to compose himself.

"I assume you mean Harry Potter." Dumbledore smiled with the twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes…" Teddy said glaring at Fred before continuing. "He's told us that in his 5th year there was barely anyone who believed him when he told the world Voldemort was back. Anyway, I came across these books…" Teddy took out seven tiny books from his pocket and placed them on the desk. He tapped them and they grew to normal size.

"Where did you learn non-verbal magic?" Dumbledore asked curiously. They taught it in Defence against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts but only in 6th year. The boy only looked like a 5th year.

"Oh, I'll explain in a minute. We're nearly done with the story." Teddy answered before carrying on from where he left off. "Erm… where was I… oh yes… I came across these books but don't ask me how. They tell a very descriptive and accurate story of Uncle Harry's life at Hogwarts. We got him to read them and he said it's as if someone was in his head recording his thoughts as he went through school. I believe these books will help people to believe Uncle Harry. If they believe earlier then they did in our past then it might help save those innocent lives. All we ask of you is to please read the books to the staff and students of Hogwarts and some other guests." Teddy had a pleading look in his eyes.

"If it we're up to me I would defiantly allow it, however, at this moment in time Professor Umbridge has more power over the school than me and I'm afraid to say she won't allow these books to be read if it was going to prove that Harry was telling the truth." Dumbledore's twinkle in his eye had gone out but soon came back after looking at the children to find them smiling at each other.

"We thought this might happen and have come up with a solution." Victorie announced with a smile. "We send the books and a letter anonymously to Umbridge. In the letter it says telling her the books will prove Harry Potter is lying about the return of Voldemort and in order to make everyone see the truth the books must be read to the staff and students and Hogwarts and some special guest. Also, to make sure she doesn't skip to the last book to see how it ends; I have charmed each book so that the writing only shows up one chapter at a time. It must therefore be read aloud. It will take a while to read the books. Do you think lessons could be cancelled for a while?" Victorie asked Dumbledore.

"I'm sure if you mentioned it in the letter, Professor Umbridge will allow it." Dumbledore smiled. "Is your story finished?" Victorie nodded. "Can you tell me who you are now?" Victorie nodded again.

"Ok, change back now." Victorie instructed the rest of the gang. Dumbledore was quite surprised when the twelve students scrunched their faces up and they all change their appearances.

"You're all metamorphmagus'?" He asked suspiciously. The gift was very rare. He had only ever met one witch who was one. Nymphadora Tonks.

"No, just I am sir." Teddy told the professor.

"Then how…?" Dumbledore paused thinking.

"We used polyjuice potion." Victorie announced. "After I graduated Hogwarts, I went to work at the ministry making polyjuice potions. It's my speciality." Victorie explained.

"With polyjuice potion you have to consume it every hour." Dumbledore looked confused. It was a look that didn't suit him.

"Well, I accidently made a discovery when I was making polyjuice potion for the ministry. If you add the secret ingredient it allows you to say looking like that person until you drink the antidote."

"May I ask what the ingredient is?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Sorry but it's a secret. I haven't even told these guys." Victorie answered pointing at the rest of the gang. "Oh, I should probably introduce us. I am Victorie Weasley." She said standing up and offered her hand out for Dumbledore to shake.

"Oh, very clever of you Victorie to use Vicky." Dumbledore asked as he stood up and went around his desk to shake her hand.

"This is my sister, Dominique, and brother, Louis." Victorie announced pointing at them. They stood up and shook the Professor's hand before sitting down again.

"All French names." Dumbledore stated out. Victorie nodded and carried on.

"Teddy Lupin." Victorie pointed to the boy sat next to her who stood up and shook the professor's hand.

"I didn't think Remus would ever marry nor have a child because of his condition."

"Yeah, Uncle Harry told me, Dad thought his children would be werewolves but I'm glad to say that the only werewolf traits I have is a liking for rare meet and heightened senses."Dumbledore nodded and Victorie moved on.

"Fred Weasley II and Roxanne Weasley." Victorie continued. "This is Rose and Hugo Weasley." Dumbledore shook their hands as well. He then looked at someone who was unmistakeably Harry Potter's sons. They had the same wild black hair and green eyes. However their face was shaped differently.

"This is James Sirius Potter, Al -" Victorie started before being interrupted by Albus.

"NO!" Albus shouted. "I can introduce myself." Albus smiled at the professor who was looking at him suspiciously.

"Fine, this is James Sirius Potter and Lily Luna Potter." Victorie sighed and Dumbledore shook their hands.

The boy who wouldn't stop staring at him quickly walked up to Dumbledore so he held out his hand for the boy to shake but instead the boy wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Dumbledore patted the boy on his back shocked. A student hadn't hugged him before.

"Al, what are you doing? You can't just attack someone with a hug." James moaned at his brother embarrassed at the younger boy's actions.

"I've waited all my life to meet you Albus…erm… I mean sir. I also want to meet Severus…erm… I mean Professor Snape. Sorry." Albus stumbled on his words obviously nervous.

"What your name?" Dumbledore asked not even mentioning the fact he just called two professors by their first name.

"Albus Severus Potter." Albus said shaking Dumbledore's hand.

Dumbledore was shocked that Harry would call his son Albus but was even more shocked he would call his middle name Severus. Harry had always hated Severus and Severus wasn't fond of Harry either.

"Hello Albus. I must say, I have never met another person called Albus." This comment made the boy smile in delight. Dumbledore decided to more on to the back row.

"Scorpius Malfoy." Victorie finished.

"A Malfoy, hanging around with Weasley's and Potter's." Dumbledore said confused.

"My Father, the Weasley's and Potter's are friends now. Father, Harry and Ron are all Aurors. They've worked together since the end of the war." Scorpius explained proudly. He had heard what his father was like before the war. He was spoilt brat. He loved the fact that his Father had changed his ways and was actually friends with the three people he use to hate the most.

"Well, I'll believe that when I see it." Dumbledore chuckled but the children's faces in front of him looked sad. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes went out again. "I don't make it through the war, do I?" Dumbledore asked a little disappointed. A few of the children shook their heads.

"You'll have to wait for the books, Sir." Victorie replied with tears in her eyes. Dumbledore decided to change the conversation.

"Should we get prepared then?" Dumbledore asked Victorie.

"Yes, I've already written the letter. Do you want to read it?" Victorie replied holding out the letter which Dumbledore took and began to read.

Dear Professor Umbridge,

I believe the Ministry of Magic when they say He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is not back but what I cannot believe is that Harry Potter would tell such dreadful lies. I have come across these books which I think would interest you greatly. They contain details on Harry Potter's life at Hogwarts. I give them to you so you can read them in front of everyone at Hogwarts and a few special guests that I have taken the liberty to invite. They will arrive at Hogwarts tomorrow to begin the reading. After all the more who hear the lies the better. I also ask that you cancel lesson until the end of the reading.

From

TF

"I think this will convince her Miss Weasley." Dumbledore stated once he had finished reading.

"Please, sir, call me Victorie or Vicky when we're doing the reading. We don't want anyone to know who we really are." Victorie explained.

"I understand Victorie. Who are you going to invite?"

"The Weasley's, Fleur Delacour, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black as Snuffles, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody, Firenze the Centaur, Dobby the House-elf, Oliver Wood, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Ted and Andromeda Tonks, Xenophilius Lovegood, Horace Slughorn, Augusta Longbottom, Cornelius Fudge and Amelia Bones." Victorie announced. "I think I got them all." She looked at Teddy and Fred who both just shrugged their shoulders.

"Well if we remember anyone else we can always invite them later on." Dumbledore said as he tied the note to the books and with a wave of his wand they were gone.

"We'll have to set you up a place to sleep in one of the old classrooms." Dumbledore announced as he got up from his desk and made his way over to his door. "Follow me children."

Dumbledore took the twelve children to an old classroom on the ground floor near the great hall. He created a girls dormitory on the left and a boy dormitory on the right with some chairs and a fireplace between them as a common room.

"I must ask that you stay in here tonight as other students and professors don't know you are here. After you've been introduced you can feel free to roam the corridors as you please." Dumbledore informed them. "But be sure to stick to the curfew." He added as he turned to walk out the door. He stopped just before he closed the door. "I'll be back down at seven o'clock tomorrow morning to introduce you to the school during breakfast. Sleep well." He then closed the door and was gone.

The gang hadn't realised how tired they were so they all went to bed even though it was only eight o'clock at night.

* * *

Umbridge had just walked into her office after patrolling to find a pile of books on her desk. She took a seat and frowned at them. She wondered what they were but didn't dare touch them in case they had been cursed. However, after testing for a curse and finding there wasn't one she dragged the books across the table towards her and noticed the letter. She opened the letter and read. After re-reading it for the fifth time to make sure she had read it properly, she smirked at the books. Finally, Harry Potter's lies were going to be found out. Looking back at the letter she wondered who TF was but gave up after she couldn't think of anyone. Tomorrow was going to be a great day.

* * *

"HARRY!" Ron shouted from his own bed.

"Whyareyoushouting?" Harry mumbled back still half asleep.

"I have no idea what you just said but it's six forty-five. We're going to be late."

Harry heard a loud thud which he assumed was Ron falling over whilst trying to get dressed. Sighing, he pulled himself out of bed and got dressed. Harry and Ron were ready within five minutes and were walking down the stairs from their dormitories with their bags on their back when they noticed nobody else was in the Gryffindor Common Room. They started to run to the great hall confused about where everyone was.

The found out when they entered the great hall to find everyone already sat down eating. This was a strange sight as usually not all the students showed up for breakfast at the same time. Also all the professors were there including Professor Trelawney which Harry hadn't seen in the Great hall since the first feast back almost two months ago. Harry and Ron sat down next to Hermione. She was sat near the end of the table close to the teachers table.

"Hey, 'Mione, why is everyone here?" Ron asked as he stuffed his face with sausage.

"I don't know it's strange isn't it though. I haven't seen this many people in the great hall since first feast back." Hermione said glaring at Ron who was stuffing even more in his face.

"Where's Dumbledore? Everyone seems to be here but him. And why has our table been elongated?" Harry asked confused. Things didn't seem right.

Just as Harry finished this thought Professor Umbridge got up from the teachers table and made her way to the headmaster's podium.

"Hem hem," Umbridge said to get the hall's attention. "Good morning everyone, I have some very good news for you this morning."

"Doubtful." Ron mumbled causing Harry to nearly choking on his pumpkin juice.

"All lessons are cancelled until further notice -" She was interrupted by cheers that spread throughout the hall. Harry looked at Hermione who didn't look happy at all. Neither did any of the professors.

"Hem hem," Umbridge glared around the hall until it was quite again. "However that does not mean you won't be busy. We will be spending our time in the Great hall reading -" She was interrupted again but this time by moans spreading throughout the hall.

"Hem hem. These books are very special. They are about a student here and it will reveal to us his lie." Umbridge looked at Harry as she said this and it wasn't just Harry who noticed as most people around the hall started staring at Harry frowning as if it was his fault. "We will shortly be joined by some guest who will join us for the reading.

Suddenly, the Great Hall doors swung open and the guest walked in. The guests included Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie and Percy Weasley, Remus Lupin with a black shaggy dog, Nymphadora Tonks with her parent Ted and Andromeda Tonks, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Fleur Delacour, Oliver Wood, Xenophilius Lovegood, Horace Slughorn, Augusta Longbottom, Cornelius Fudge, Amelia Bones, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Dobby and Firenze. They all stood at the door waiting to be told where to sit.

Everyone was looking at the guest wondering why they needed to be there. Ron, George, Fred and Ginny were surprised to see their family. Draco, however, looked sad that his parents were here. His mother kept looking at her sister, Andromeda Tonks, with a longing glance as if she wanted to go and talk to her but knew she shouldn't. Harry was thrilled to see Remus and Sirius, even if it was animagus Sirius. Harry saw Remus whispering something to Snuffles who looked disappointed but then when Tonks tapped Remus on his shoulder, Snuffles made a run for it. He leapt onto the Gryffindor table and ran all the way down it until he reached the end where Harry was sat.

Most of the hall burst out laughing at the dog's strange behaviour. Snuffles sat down on top of the table and barked at Harry.

"Hello, Snuffles you know you really shouldn't be on top of the table." Harry said to his godfather in disguise. Snuffles just rolled his eyes making Harry burst out laughing.

"Mr Potter, get that flea ridden dog of the table." Umbridge snapped at Harry. Before he could stop him, Snuffle had jumped up and ran to the end of the elongated Gryffindor table and growled at Umbridge. "If you don't control your dog, he'll have to go." Umbridge threatened but Snuffles just turned around and went back to Harry.

At the door Remus was looking like he was half way between anger and amusement. He had just told Snuffle to not do anything to get him noticed and that is just what he had done.

Umbridge told the guests to sit on the temporary chairs at the back of the hall which they did.

Suddenly, Dumbledore walked in with twelve students behind him that he had never seen before. One glance at Hermione told him she had never seen them before as well. Dumbledore walked straight down the middle of the hall between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables and stopped when he got to the headmasters podium. He turned around to address the students. The new students stopped just at the end of the Gryffindor's elongated table. Harry noticed that every few seconds one would look back at him, smile, look forward again and then whisper something to one of the other students who would do the same thing.

"Good Morning students, I am sure Professor Umbridge has told you about the books we will be reading." Dumbledore looked straight at Harry and gave him a look that said 'Sorry'. "Well, a few new people have joined us for the reading. Now I'd like to introduce you to Vicky who will introduce herself and her cousins." Dumbledore stepped aside and made way for a pretty brunette to stand at the podium. She held her wand to her throat and began to speak with her voice magnifying around the hall.

"Hello, as Dumbledore said, I'm Vicky and these are all my cousins. This is Ted…" Victorie paused to give Teddy time to wave and sit down at the Gryffindor table next to Harry. "This is Jim… This is Frederick…This is Minnie…"

"ANOTHER MINNIE!" Fred and George Weasley shouted out pointing at their head of house Professor McGonagall. McGonagall just glared at the twins until they stopped pointing.

"This is Lewis… This is Al… This is Lilia… This is…

"SPARTA!" shouted a muggle-born causing all the muggle-borns and a few half bloods to burst out laughing whilst the rest of the hall looked at them confused.

"No it's not Sparta, its Anne… This is Rosemary… This is Hugh… and this is Scott." After she finished she too went and sat down at the Gryffindor table meaning that it was now full.

Harry looked down the table at the 12 new students to find that they were already looking at him. Harry looked at Snuffles who was still sat opposite him on the table and by the look in the dog's eyes, he had no idea what was going on either. Looking back at the new students, Harry realised that they were not only looking at him but also at Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny and some of the guests at the back of the hall. Harry let curiosity get the better of him and he turned to talk to the boy called Frederick sat next to Ron.

"Hi, who are you?" Harry asked.

"I'm Frederick, Unc… erm… Harry." Frederick answered nervously. He had nearly given away their real identity and by the looks from the gang they had noticed it to.

"I heard," Harry said "Where are you from? Why are you here?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"We're here to listen to the book reading and I can't tell you where were from." Frederick answered nervously, scared of giving away information.

"Why can't you tell me?" Harry asked becoming more curious. He noticed Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny had stopped their own conversation and were listening to Harry's conversation.

"That's a secret for now." Whispered the girl Harry remembered was called Minnie. Harry looked at her confused and then she burst out laughing. "We'll tell you who we are and why we're here at the end of the books if you haven't already guessed." Minnie added.

"Or if this idiot reveals who we are." The boy called Ted added glaring at Frederick.

"Can I have your attention please?" Dumbledore asked the hall who immediately listened. "If all the students and our guest could stand up please. I'm going to make it more comfortable for us to read."

Everyone stood up and with a wave of Dumbledore's hand, the tables and chairs vanished and in its place was around a hundred and fifty couches all squashed together big enough for three, around fifty individual chairs and hundreds of soft cushions so people could sit on the floor.

Harry, Ron and Hermione grabbed a couch near the front with Snuffles on their laps. To their right but at an angle were Fred, George and their friend Lee. Next to them but at a 90 degree angle to Harry were Neville, Ginny and Luna. To Harry's left but at an angle were Ted, Vicky and Frederick. Sat on cushions in front of them were Jim, Lilia and Hugh. Next to them but facing Neville were Dominique, Louis and Roxanne. Sat on cousins in front of them were Al, Rosemary and Scott.

The rest of the guests were sat behind the front couches with the rest of the students sat behind them. Cornelius Fudge and Amelia Bones went and sat at the teachers table next to Umbridge.

Harry didn't understand why the new students were sat so close to him and his friends. Harry took a minute to look at them. He noticed that Al kept looking at Snape excitedly with a large smile on his face. He had never seen anyone look at Snape this way.

"Hey Ron, look at that Al." Harry nudged Ron in the ribs.

"What about him?" Ron asked.

"He keeps smiling at Snape."

"Why would anyone do that?"

"I don't know but he looks excited almost."

"He probably doesn't know who Snape is."

"We know perfectly well who Snape is and so will you by the end of the books" Jim said on the floor threw gritted teeth.

"We already know who he is. He's a greasy old git." Ron replied calmly.

Before Harry knew what was happening Jim had jumped onto his feet pointing his wand at Ron.

"Take…it…back…now." Jim said threw gritted teeth again. He was glaring at Ron. Everyone was had stopped talking and was watching Jim and Ron.

"NO JAMES…" Frederick shouted jumping in front of Jim's wand. This seemed to distract Jim because he slapped Frederick around the head.

"You idiot." Jim said to Frederick who looked confused for a second then realised what he said. He turned and looked at Harry who just stared back in shock. 'There was something suspicious about these new students' Harry thought as Jim pulled Frederick back to his seat.

"Erm…Ok then…erm…We'll start. I'll read first." Dumbledore announced a little confused about what had just happened.

* * *

**I hope you like this Prologue. I haven't started on the typing up of the chapters yet because I want to wait and see if people want me to carry on. Please Review and tell me whether you think I should carry on with this fanfic. **

**Here is a list of things that I will reveal/write about if I carry on**

**1. Victorie's secret ingredient for the Polyjuice Potion.**

**2. More Albus Severus Potter talking to both Dumbldore and Snape.**

**3. More of Snape's thoughts on the new students.**

**4. Why Victorie and Teddy were looking at each other nervously. (But I think you can guess why.)**

**5. Bonding moments between Fred, George and Fred II.**

**6. Bonding moments between Remus, Tonks and Teddy.**

**7. Bonding moments between James and Sirius.**

**8. Bonding moments between Scorpius and Draco.**

**and much more.**

**I hope you're interested. **

**Please Review/Favourite/Follow x**


	2. The Boy Who Lived

**Author's Notes: Hello readers. I would like to thank o who read/reviewed/followed/favourited my story. It made me so happy when I checked this morning to see I had 306 views, 8 reviews, 29 follows and 14 favourites. **

**I'm uploading this chapter because it is done but I'm not going to upload another one after this until I have a few chapters done. This is just incase I haven't uploaded in a while and I don't have time to write so I can just upload the chapter I've already done and my readers wont get angry with me for not uploading.**

**My sister borrowed my laptop and returned it to me slightly sticky (I don't want to know why it's sticky) and ever since the 'O' button doesn't work properly. So if you're reading and you notice a few 'O's' missing that is why.**

**Please Review - It makes me really happy to see I have a new review.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. We'll I own somethings but not Harry Potter.**

**Enjoy x**

* * *

"Is everyone ready? The first chapter is called '**The Boy Who Lived'**." Dumbledore announced.

"I think I should read the first chapter Albus. I was the one who was given the books." Said Umbridge with a glare.

"Of course Dolores." Dumbledore said with a knowing smile as he passed the book to Umbridge.

Umbridge cleared her throat before starting.

**Mr and Mrs Dursley,**

"WHAT!" Harry shouted. "I thought these books were about my time at Hogwarts." He exclaimed

Snape couldn't help but roll his eyes. 'Pampered Prince Potter wants everything to be about him as usual. Just like his father.'

"Harry, calm down, it's probably just an introduction telling us about your life before Hogwarts." Hermione said calmly.

This didn't make Harry calm down though, if anything it made him more nervous. 'Would they find out about everything the Dursley's had done to him?'

**Of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**

"You're Welcome." Fred, George and Frederick said in unison. Most of the hall burst out laughing but the twins and Frederick quickly looked at each other. Frederick was please he had so much in common with his father and uncle. Fred and George, however, narrowed their eyes at the boy suspiciously.

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

"Oh, of course not." Frederick said in a posh voice making the hall laugh again.

"Hey! You're stealing our lines." The Twins said in unison faking a look of anger but really they were impressed with the newbie.

**Mr Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. **

"What are drills?" asked a 4th year Slytherin.

"A tool used to make holes." Hermione answered and the Slytherin just nodded a thanks.

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache.**

"It sounds as if the fact he has a moustache makes up for the fact he is big and beefy with hardly any neck." A third year Gryffindor said.

**Mrs Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours. **

"Has she ever heard of Privacy?" Ginny asked with a look of disgust on her face.

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion they was no finer boy anywhere.**

The hall burst out laughing again.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, **

"Ooooh!" The hall leaned forward wanting to know the secret.

**and their greatest fear was that someone would discover it.**

"What's the secret?" someone shouted from the back of the hall.

**They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"What's wrong with the Potter's?" Jim asked furiously. Harry turned to stare at Jim. 'Why was he so angry? It should be me who's angry.' Harry asked himself.

"What's right with the Potter's?" Draco asked and most of the Slytherin's laughed while the rest of the hall sent death glares to whichever Slytherin they saw first.

"Draco! Apologise! NOW!" Narcissa demanded whilst glaring at her husband who had been chuckling at their son's joke.

"Sorry, Potter." Draco spat obviously not sorry at all.

Harry avoided eye contact with Draco and instead went back to looking suspiciously at the new students when he noticed Scott glared at Draco with a look of disgust. Harry became even more suspicious of the students.

**Mrs Potter was Mrs Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,**

Most of the people in the hall were occupied with glaring at the book and therefore didn't hear Snape growling.

**because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband **

"WHAT! James was not 'good-for-nothing'." Lupin shouted at the book and Snuffles growled in agreement.

**were as unDursleyish **

"That's not a word." Hermione, Minnie and the Ravenclaws announced.

**as it was possible to be. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too,**

"HARRY!" Most of the hall shouted and then burst out laughing.

**but they had never seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Like what?" A couple of people around the hall asked confused.

**When Mr and Mrs Dursley woke up on the dull, grey Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work **

"Why would he pick his most boring tie? That doesn't make any sense." Neville asked confused.

"They're the Dursleys. They never make any sense." Harry explained.

**and Mrs Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"Charming." Ginny muttered making the people who heard her laugh.

**None of them noticed a large tawny owl fleet post the window. **

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody shouted from his seat at the side of the hall making people jump as they had forgotten he was there.

**At half last eight, Mr Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. 'Little tyke,'**

"He's encouraging him." Mrs Weasley frowned at the book.

**chortled Mr Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map. **

Everyone turned to look at Professor McGonagall. "MINNIE!" Fred and George shouted whilst pointing at their head of house.

Professor McGonagall glared at them. "The next person to call me 'Minnie' will have detention."

Everyone avoided her stern look and waited for Umbridge to carry on reading.

**For a second, Mr Dursley didn't realise what he had seen - then he makes his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat **

"Definitely Minnie." George whispered to Fred but not quiet enough because people started laughing.

"Detention tonight Mr George Weasley." George's smile faltered at the thought of spending detention alone without his brother but Fred gave him a look that told George he would never be alone.

**standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he gave been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. **

"The excuses Muggles come up with." Mr Weasley said shaking his head.

**Mr Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs.**

"Unless you're Minnie." Fred announced and the hall laughed. George high-fived his brother whilst their mother shook her head at the twins.

"Detention tonight Mr Fred Weasley." McGonagall said disapprovingly.

**Mr Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

"One track mind." Ted said whilst rolling his eyes. The hall laughed.

Umbridge was getting sick of the interruptions. If they didn't shut up they would never finish the book.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As his day in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in clocks.**

Fred gasped and pretended to faint into George's arms whilst George fanned Fred. Mrs Weasley glared at the twins whilst everyone else laughed; even a few Slytherin's couldn't help the smile that crept onto their faces.

**Mr Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the get-ups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these works standing quite close by. They were whispering excited out together. Mr Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; **

"How dare they!"Fred, George and Frederick shouted in fake anger and the hall burst out laughing again whilst the twins glared at Frederick.

"Who are you?" the twins asked in unison.

"Frederick." Frederick answered with a smile.

The twins rolled their eyes identically which made Frederick smile widen. "We know that but where are you from."

"I can't tell you that, sorry." Frederick answered and his smile fell slightly.

"Well, we like you-" Fred started.

"-You're funny." George finished.

Frederick's smiled happily at being liked by his father and uncle.

"Did you hear that? They like me." Frederick whispered into Vicky's ear. Vicky just smiled in return.

**why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak!**

"The nerve of him!" Charlie said with fake anger.

**The nerve of him! **

Everyone turned to stare at Charlie who was looking slightly green from the fact he had said the same thing Mr Dursley had thought.

**But then it struck Mr Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something... Yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on, and a few minutes later, Mr Dursley arrived in the Grunnings car park, his mind back on drills.**

"What did I say, one track mind." Ted announced again making the hall laugh.

**Mr Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office in the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owl swing part in broad daylight, **

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody shouted again making people jump again as they had forgotten he was there.

**though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at night-time. Mr Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He had made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"I think he likes shouting." Draco Malfoy blurted out before he could think. Then he opened his eyes in shock like most people in the hall were doing. Narcissa was smiling at her son. He had just said something about Harry's uncle without being mean to Harry.

**He was in a very good mood until lunch-time, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road **

"WHAT! Uncle Vernon … was exercising?" Harry said in shock.

**to buy himself a bun from the baker's opposite.**

"Oh … never mind." Harry said less shocked and the hall burst out laughing.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in clocks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This lot were whispering excited, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back part them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**'The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard -'**

**'- yes, their son, Harry -'**

"It's 'that's' day, isn't it." Lupin asked sadly. Dumbledore nodded.

**Mr Dursley stopped dead.**

"I wish." Harry muttered but Ron, Hermione, Snuffles, Lupin and Ted heard him. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other whilst Snuffles, Lupin and Ted glared at Harry in confusion.

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better off it.**

"He can think?" Harry asked in a serious voice and receiving a few chuckles in return but most people were silent in realisation that it was the day Harry's parents were murdered.

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seizing his telephone and had almost finished dialling his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking...**

"He's staring to scare me with all this thinking." Harry said gaining a few more chuckles.

**no, he was being stupid.**

"Glad he finally realised." Harry said having fun insulting his uncle. Most people were starting to chuckle now.

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name. **

"It is in the wizarding world." Lupin announced.

**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry.**

"He didn't know your name, Harry." Hermione asked with a frown.

"I'm not sure he knew my name until I started primary school." Harry answered and looked at Hermione's shocked face. "What? I didn't even know my name until I started primary school and the teacher called me it. I got into trouble for ignoring her."

"Oh, Harry." Hermione whispered sympathetically.

"What? Before that my uncle and aunt called me 'Boy' and if Dudley wanted my attention he'd shout 'oy'." Harry said confused. He didn't think it was that big of a deal but looking around the ball he saw looks of shock on most people. Even a few Slytherin's. "Can we get on with the reading?" Harry asked impatiently. He didn't like that people were staring at him.

Snape was glaring at Harry trying to hide his confusion. 'Maybe Pampered Prince Potter wasn't as pampered as I first thought.'

**He'd never even seen the boy.**

People sent worried looks towards Harry who just buried his head in Snuffles fur.

**It might have been called Harvey.**

"Harvey Potter." Ginny said with a sound of disgust as people in the hall laughed trying to get over what Harry had told them.

**Or Harold.**

"You were named after Lily's father, Harold Evans." Lupin started.

"Really?" Harry asked lifting his head off snuffles to look at Lupin. He was happy to be finding it something new about his family. Lupin nodded with a smile.

**There was no point worrying Mrs Dursley, she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if he'd have a sister like that... **

"Has he met his sister?" Harry asked making a few people laugh. Some were still a bit worried about his home life.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks ...**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon, and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

**'Sorry,' **

"He knows that word?" Harry asked seriously.

**he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr Dursley realised that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passers-by stare: 'Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!'**

**And the old man hugged Mr Dursley around the middle **

"His arms fit." Ron said shocked and the hall laughed.

**and walked off.**

**Mr Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"WHAT! HOW CAN HE NOT APPROVE OF IMAGINATION?" The twins shouted in unison. They were now glaring at the book.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. **

"You were sat there all day, Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey asked concerned. McGonagall just nodded.

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it has the same markings around its eyes.**

**'Shoo!' said Mr Dursley loudly.**

"Not going to work." The twins sang.

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. **

"Ah! The McGonagall Glare." The twins announced wisely.

McGonagall glared at the twins.

"Ah! Professor McGonagall" Fred started.

"-Is kind enough-" George said.

"-To give us-" Fred added.

"-A demonstration." George finished causing nearly the whole hall to laugh at their twin speak.

**Was this normal cat behaviour? **

"Nope, but it is normal Minnie behaviour." Frederick said wanting to get a detention with his father and uncle.

"Detention Mr Frederick- what is your name?" McGonagall asked.

"Wea-ton ... Frederick Weaton." Frederick said nervously having nearly said 'Weasley'.

"Well Mr Weaton, detention tonight." McGonagall said shaking her head. Fred and George, however, looked happy.

"You have to be careful around the twins, Fred." Vicky whispered in his ear.

"I know." Frederick replied rolling his eyes.

**Mr Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mr Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learnt a new word ('Shan't!'). **

"That's not something to be proud of." Mrs Weasley said.

**Mr Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living-room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

**'And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusual today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern.' The news reader allowed himself a grin. **

"Does he know about the Wizarding world?" Someone asked.

"Yes, he does." Mr Tonks replied.

"How do you know, Dad?" Tonks asked her father.

"It's me. I use to work for the Muggle news but I quit a few months after that report." Mr Tonks explained.

"Cool." Tonks said.

**'Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffey with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?'**

**'Well, Ted,'**

"It was you." Tonks said excitedly.

"Did you doubt me, Nymphadora?" Mr Tonks laughed he knew she hated her full name.

"Don't call me Nymphadora." She growled turning her hair to red. The hall burst out laughing at the metamorphmagus.

**said the weatherman, 'I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight.'**

**Mr Dursley say frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in clocks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...**

"He's putting it all together. And I thought he was an idiot." Harry said causing laughter.

"Harry watch your mouth. That's no way to talk about your family." Mrs Weasley said disapprovingly.

"Only family by marriage not by blood." Harry murmured but Mrs Weasley heard.

"What about your aunt?"

"Only family by blood, not love." He said louder this time. Many people exchanged worrying glances with each other.

**Mrs Dursley came into the living-room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. 'Er - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?'**

**As he had expected, Mr Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

Snape glared at the book and if looks could kill the book would have been dead.

**'No,' she said sharply. 'Why?'**

**'Funny stuff on the news,' Mr Dursley mumbled. 'Owls ... shooting stars ... and there were a lot of funny-looking in town today ...'**

**'So?' snapped Mrs Dursley.**

**'Well, I just thought ... maybe ... it was something to do with ...you know ... her lot.'**

"HER LOT!" People shouted.

**Mrs Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name 'Potter'. He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, 'Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?'**

**'I suppose so,' said Mrs Dursley stiffly.**

**'What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?'**

**'Harry. Nasty common name if you ask me.'**

"Harry's a nice name" Lilia said dreamily. Many people voiced their agreement.

"Erm ... Thanks." Harry said. Lilia smiled at her young father.

**'Oh, yes,' said Mr Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. 'Yes, I write agree.'**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. **

"Of course she is." The twins announced.

**It was starting down Privet Drive as though it was waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? **

"I thought he didn't approve of imagination." Ted asked causing chuckling to spread throughout the hall.

**Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did ... if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs Dursley feel sleep quickly but Mr Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind ... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on. He yawned and turned over. It couldn't affect him... **

"He's Jinxed it. Now it will affect him." A Hufflepuff said.

**How very wrong he was.**

"Told you, didn't I." The same Hufflepuff said.

"No one disagreed with you Sam, now shut up." His friend said.

**Mr Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the day corner of Privet Drive. It didn't do much as quiver when a car for slammed in the next street, more when two owls dropped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before that cat moved at all.**

"Oh Minerva, you should know better." Madam Pomfrey sighed.

**A man appeared on the corner the cat has been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.**

"He apparated. He's a Wizard."

**The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen in Privet Drive. He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. **

"DUMBLEDORE!" Most of the hall yelled.

Umbridge and Fudge frowned at the reaction.

**He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak which swept the ground and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"YAY!" The hall yelled.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realise that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. **

"Oh I realised, I just didn't care. It's quite amusing actually to go to Muggle towns and cities dressed in robes and cloaks just to see their reactions." Dumbledore chuckled.

"Albus." McGonagall said shocked he would risk revealing themselves.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realise he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, 'I should have known.'**

**He had found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. **

"You smoke sir?" A muggle-born asked with a frown.

"No, I don't Miss Jewlson." Dumbledore replied with a smile.

**He flicked it open, held it up in the air and clicked nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. **

"COOL! I want one." Ron announced in awe.

**He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer,**

"It's actually called a 'Deluminator'." Dumbledore announced.

**until the only lights left in the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

**'Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall.'**

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the makings the cat has had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. **

**'How did you know it was me?' she asked.**

Most people burst out laughing.

"Even we guessed." The twins laughed.

**'My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly.'**

**'You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day,' said Professor McGonagall.**

"Nobody told you to sit on the wall all day." Someone at the back of the hall said earning themselves a McGonagall glare.

**'All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here.'**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

**'Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right,' she said impatiently. 'You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news.' She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. 'I heard it. Flocks of owls ... shooting stars ... Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent **

"I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle." Bill said remembering the one time they had met.

**- I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle.**

"Hey Bill, you think like Minnie." Charlie said punching his brother on the arm playfully as people around them laughed.

"Detention Mr Charlie Weasley." McGonagall glared at the second eldest Weasley child.

"But I don't even go to school here anymore." Charlie defended himself.

"Well you should have thought about that before you called me 'Minnie'." McGonagall told him.

"Awww." Charlie whined.

**He never had much sense.'**

**'You can't blame them,' said Dumbledore gently. 'We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years.'**

**'I know that,' said Professor McGonagall irritably. 'But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumours.'**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on: 'A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?'**

**'It certainly seems so,' **

"See, even Dumbledore said he's gone, Potter." Umbridge spat at Harry.

"He was and Now he's back." Harry shouted at Umbridge as he stood up.

"You mustn't tell lies Mr Potter." Umbridge spat back again.

Harry involuntarily covered his right hand with his left. Lupin and Snuffles noticed and glanced at each other to make sure the other had seen it. They made a note to ask Harry about it later.

**said Dumbledore. 'We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a sherbet lemon?'**

"A What" The hall asked apart from the muggle-borns and a few half-bloods who liked their lips.

**'A What?'**

The hall laughed.

**'A sherbet lemon. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of.'**

"Ooooh can we have some, Professor." Someone asked. Dumbledore chuckled and waved his hand. Suddenly bowls of Sherbet Lemons were in front of people.

**'No, thank you,' said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for sherbet lemons. 'As I say, even if You-know-Who has gone -'**

**'My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this "You-Know-Who" nonsense – for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort.'**

Everyone in the hall flinched except for Harry, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, Snuffles and the new students. Harry stared at them slightly impressed. Not many people could avoid flinching when hearing the name.

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two sherbet lemons, seemed not to notice.**

"I noticed." Dumbledore chuckled and McGonagall blushed slightly.

**'It all gets so confusing if we keep saying "You-Know-Who". I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's **(Flinch)** name.'**

**'I know you haven't,' said Professor McGonagall, sounding half-exasperated, half-admiring. 'But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know – oh, all right, Voldemort **(Flinch)** – was frightened of.'**

**'You flatter me,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'Voldemort **(Flinch)** had powers I will never have.'**

"Only because you're too noble to use them, sir." Al announced and the Headmaster smiled at the child.

Harry looked at Al who was sat on the floor. 'How did he know Dumbledore?' Harry thought.

Snape was also looking at the young boy sat on the floor. He too was wondering how he knew Dumbledore when he himself had only met the children the day before.

**'Only because you're too – well – noble to use them.'**

"Hey Al, you think like 'Minnie'." Jim said to his brother.

"Yeah well, great minds think alike." Al said back. The hall started laughing and McGonagall blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Detention Mr Jim-" McGonagall paused waiting for him to tell her his name.

"Pott-s. Mr Potts." Jim was shocked at himself, usually he thought before he spoke.

"And you think I'm bad at keeping our secret." Frederick muttered to Jim.

"I nearly gave it away once. You've nearly given it away thrice and have actually given it away to Dumbledore once." Jim muttered back.

"Hey do you mind not talking about this here," Ted whispered leaning forward so both Jim and Frederick could hear him. "Because you might have forgotten there is a certain person here who might be able to hear us with their heightened senses." Ted, Jim, Frederick and Vicky (who had heard what was being said) turned to face Lupin.

Remus barely had a second after hearing the new students to look at Umbridge before he felt four pairs of eyes on him. 'How do they know about my lycanthropy?' He frowned as he thought to himself.

**'It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she like my new earmuffs.'**

The hall looked straight at Madam Pomfrey and burst out laughing when they noticed she was blushing.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, 'The owls are nothing to the rumours that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?'**

Harry buried his head in Snuffles fur again.

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a women had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever 'everyone' was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another sherbet lemon and did not answer. **

**'What they're saying,' she pressed on, 'is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumour is that Lily and James Potter are – are – that they're – dead.'**

Most people in the hall were silent with grief or sadness.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**'Lily and James … I can't believe it … I didn't want to believe it … Oh, Albus …'**

Harry felt tears slowly falling down his cheek and into his godfather's fur. Suddenly he felt a pair of arms pulling him sideways and looked up to find Lupin sat where Ron had been. Harry leaned into what he liked to think of as his second godfather or an uncle. Lupin started gently stroking Harry's head and gently 'shushing' to calm Harry down. Snuffles used his nose to push Harry's hand onto his head so he could be stroked by his godson. Most of the girls in the hall had tears in their eyes or falling down their cheeks at the sadness before them whilst most of the boys were sitting awkwardly with their head bowed.

Snape was looking straight ahead trying not to think of Lily. He was distracted, however, by the new students in front of him. Ted was hugging his cousin Lilia who seemed to be uncontrollably crying into his shoulder. Al, the boy who hadn't stopped staring at him since the reading began, was sat hugging Jim. Al seemed to be crying like Lilia but Jim looked like he was holding the tears in trying to stay strong for Al. Snape didn't understand why these children reacted so badly to the death of someone they had never known.

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. 'I know … I know …' he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. 'That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But – he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, Voldemort's somehow broke – and that's why he's gone.'**

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**'It's – it's true?' flattered Professor McGonagall. 'After all he's done … all the people he's killed … he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding … of all the things to stop him … but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?'**

**'We can only guess,' said Dumbledore. 'We may never know.'**

"Do you know now, Professor?" Vicky asked the Headmaster quietly. The Headmaster nodded but didn't say anything.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge.**

Most people in the hall glanced at the Headmaster confused but he just gave a small smile.

**It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, 'Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?'**

**'Yes,' said Professor McGonagall. 'And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?'**

**'I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he had left now.'**

**'You don't mean – you can't mean the people who live here?' cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. 'Dumbledore – you can't. **

"Why didn't he listen to her?" Harry mumbled into Lupin's shoulder. Lupin looked down at Harry not knowing what he was on about but deciding it would be best to ask questions later and continued stroking his head and 'shushing'.

**I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!'**

"Brat!" Hermione spat quietly.

**'It's the best place for him,' **

"He couldn't have been more wrong." Harry mumbled again into Lupin. Lupin made up his mind. During lunch he was going to ask Harry.

"We should talk during lunch. Me, you and Snuffles." Lupin bent his head down and whispered into Harry's hair. Harry nodded against his shoulder.

**said Dumbledore firmly. 'His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter.'**

"A LETTER!" Lupin yelled at Dumbledore furiously making many around the hall jump. Snuffles obviously felt his fury because he had jumped off Harry and was growling at Dumbledore. The only thing holding him back was Harry who was hugging his neck.

**'A letter?' repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. 'Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous **

"Unfortunately." Harry muttered as he pulled Lupin back into the seat and Snuffles back onto his lap. Snape glared at Potter. 'Did he really not like his fame or was all this another way to get attention.'

**– a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in future**

Harry jumped up this time looking at Dumbledore. "It's not, is it?" he asked. Dumbledore shook his head. Harry sat back down relieved but Snape's confusion deepened.

**– there will be books written about Harry **

"Wow professor are you a seer?" Vicky asked with an innocent smile knowing perfectly well the professors thoughts on people who claimed to be seer's.

"No, I'm certainly not." McGonagall spat out clearly disgusted by the thought of someone thinking she was. The twelve new children in front of her burst out laughing at her answer. The rest of the hall looked at the new students as if they had missed some inside joke. "Why are you laughing?" McGonagall asked curiously with her eyes narrowed.

"Private joke. We'll tell you after the reading of all the books." Vicky answered still chuckling. McGonagall made a mental note to remember to ask her.

**– every child in our world will know his name!'**

**'Exactly,' said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. 'It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he could walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?'**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed and then said, 'Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?' She eyed his cloak suddenly as thought she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"He better not be." Mrs Weasley said threateningly as she glared at professor Dumbledore. Harry was as good as a son to her.

**'Hagrid's bringing him.'**

**'You think it – wise – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?'**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life." Harry announced and with a saddened smile he looked at Hagrid who was smiling back clearly pleased Harry thought so highly of him.

**'I would trust Hagrid with my life,' said Dumbledore.**

A chuckle could be heard spreading throughout the hall.

"Thank you, professor." Hagrid said to Dumbledore who smiled his usual smile.

**'I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place,' said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, 'but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to – what was that?'**

Many people in the hall gasped. "What is it?" someone asked.

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorbike fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

**If the motorbike was huge, it was nothing compared to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins.**

"Thanks for the description, Harry." Hagrid said sarcastically causing the hall to laugh but still not with the enthusiasm they had before.

"Hey, I didn't write it." Harry said raising his hands up in defence which made the hall laugh even more.

**In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

**'Hagrid,' said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. 'At last. And where did you get that motorbike?'**

**'Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir,' said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorbike as he spoke. 'Young Sirius Black lent it me. **

Harry heard Snuffles give a quite wimper to the memory of his beloved motorbike.

"Hagrid, did Sirius ever get his motorbike back?" Harry asked.

"No, he had blown up thirteen people by then." Hagrid growled.

Harry had to hug Snuffles neck again to stop him from attacking Hagrid or changing from his animagus form. "Third book." Harry whispered into his godfather's dog ears.

**I've got him, sir.'**

**'No problems, were there?'**

**'No, sir – house was almost destroyed but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we were flyin' over Bristol.'**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. **

"Aw." Most of the girls cooed as most of the boy laughed at Harry who was blushing.

**Under a tuft of jet black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

**'Is that where -?' whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**'Yes,' said Dumbledore. 'He'll have that scar forever.'**

**'Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?'**

**'Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in useful. I have one myself above my left knee which is a perfect map of the London Underground. **

"Really Al ... erm ... Professor." Al asked the Headmaster who nodded. Snape narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Al who was staring up at the Headmaster as if he was the most interesting person he had ever met. 'That child is strange.' Snape thought to himself.

**Well – give him here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with.'**

"Thanks professor, I'm feeling the love." Harry said sarcastically whilst smiling. Dumbledore chuckled along with the rest of the hall.

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned towards the Dursleys' house.**

**'Could I – could I say goodbye to him, sir?' asked Hagrid.**

**He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

Suddenly Snuffles let out a howl identical to Hagrid's making the hall laugh at the Dogs antics.

**'Shhh!' hissed Professor McGonagall. 'You'll wake the Muggles!'**

**'S-s-sorry,' sobbed Hagrid, taking out a rather large spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. 'But I c-c-can't stand it – Lily an' James dead – an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles –'**

**'Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found,' Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep,**

"ON THE DOORSTEP!" Lupin and Mrs Weasley shouted as Snuffles growled again.

"HE COULD HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED." Mrs Weasley shouted.

"OR HE COULD HAVE FROZEN TO DEATH. THIS WAS NOVEMBER." Lupin shouted.

"Calm down Remus, Molly. I assure you he was perfectly safe. I placed heating charms on him and a charm that hid him from view." Dumbledore explained.

**Took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets and then came back t the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

**'Well,' said Dumbledore finally, 'that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations.'**

**'Yeah', said Hagrid in a very muffled voice. 'I'd best get this bike away.**

"Where is the bike now Hagrid." Harry asked.

"It's in the boat house. Why?" Hagrid replied suspiciously.

"No reason." Harry answered innocently.

"You better not be thinking about riding that deathtrap." Molly told him seriously.

"Oh, no. I was just curious." Harry answered innocently again. On his left side the twelve new students were trying not to laugh as they remember what happened the first time Harry had taken Sirius's motorbike for a ride.

**G'night, Professor McGonagall – Professor Dumbledore, sir.'**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself on to the motorbike and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

**'I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall,' said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so the Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat **

"MINNIE." Shouted Bill, Charlie, the Twins, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Frederick, Ted, Jim and Al.

"Detention." McGonagall sighed and the hall started laughing.

"That's two tonight and tomorrow night for Mr Fred, George and Charlie Weasley and also Mr Frederick Weaton and Mr Jim Potts. Then one tonight for Mr Bill, Ron and Miss Ginny Weasley, Mr Harry Potter, Mr Ted-"

"Ted Luper." Ted said hoping it didn't sound too much like 'Lupin'.

"and one for Mr Al-"

Al paused trying to think of a new surname but decided to follow his brother.

"Potts, Miss."

"So Jim is your brother?" McGonagall asked and Al nodded.

**slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

**'Good luck, Harry,' **

"I'm gonna need it." Harry muttered under his breath but Lupin and Snuffles heard and frowned.

**he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, **

"Aw." Most of the girls cooed again making Harry blush. Most of the boys were sniggering.

**not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley … He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: 'To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!'**

"That's the end of the chapter." Umbridge announced with a frown.

"I'll read next Dolores." Dumbledore said before taking the book from the women's hands and looking at the title of the next chapter.

"The next chapter is called **'The Vanishing Glass'.**

"Will it involve accidental magic, professor?" A second year Ravenclaw asked.

"We'll have to wait and see wont we, Mr Green." Dumbledore smiled at the boy who looked shocked that the Headmaster knew his name.

"I'll begin."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed Chapter 1. **

**I hope you noticed a few extra plotline I put in to keep you interested such as:**

**1. The Detention**

**2. Dumbledore's fascination with walking around Muggle communities in his Wizarding clothes. (Expect Anecdotes)**

**3. Lupin, Snuffles/Sirius and Harry's talk during Lunch.**

**4. Anecdotes from the Gang. (Harry's first ride on Sirius's motorbike)**

**Please Review/Favourite/Follow x**


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**Author's Notes: Hello Reader's. I am so sorry for the massive gap between this chapter and the last chapter but as some of you may know if you read my other FanFiction 'Forced Together' my Nana dided on the 20th February and I became quite depressed and highly unmotivated and I know that was nearly a whole month after my last upload on this story but I was really busy looking after my baby sister and brother whilst my mam was spending as much time as she could with her mma (my nana) and my dad was working. I had literally no time to write any chapters. **

**But now I'm getting my motivation back and I'll be writing a lot more.**

******I don't know when i'll next upload but It won't be as long as last time.**

******Sorry and Enjoy x**

* * *

**Nearly ten years had passed since the ****Dursleys**** had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. **

"Boring!" Fred and George sang in a bored voice.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the ****Dursleys****' front door; it crept into their living-room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr ****Dursley**** had seen that fateful news report about the owls. **

"How can someone be this boring?" The Weasley twins asked no-one in particular.

**Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloured bobble hats **

The majority of the hall burst out laughing at the mental pictures.

**- but Dudley ****Dursley**** was no longer a baby,**

"You can say that again." Harry muttered causing the people around him who heard to laugh.

**and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, **

"A What?" A few purebloods asked.

"I'll make a list and at the end of each book I'll explain." The Muggle Studies professor, Charity Burbage, explained to the hall whilst summoning a roll of parchment and a quill.

**on a roundabout at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, **

Professor Burbage began writing on her parchment.

**being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. **

"Where are you Harry?" Hermione asked but Harry just made a hand gesture for Dumbledore to carry on.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, **

"Oh, well, why aren't there any photographs of you?" Hermione asked curiously and looking at Harry. Harry sighed and gave Dumbledore the same hand gesture as before. The headmaster carried on reading.

**asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice **

Harry, Ted, Jim, Al and Lilia all shuddered in remembrance of the voice. Harry glared at the four children who had shuddered also and wondered why they were shuddering.

**that made the first noise of the day.**

**'Up! Get up! Now!'**

"What a pleasant wake up call." Ginny said sarcastically.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

**'Up!' she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. **

"You can hear the kitchen from your bedroom, Harry?" Hermione asked Harry but all she got in return was a glare.

"Is your bedroom downstairs, mate?" asked Ron who had not seen Harry's glare.

"You could say that." Harry mumbled. Hermione and Ron exchanged a worried glance whilst Remus looked down at Harry who was still in his arms and stroking Snuffles.

**He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"You remembered?" Remus asked shocked. Harry just nodded and carried on stroking his Godfather. Harry knew it was going to get a lot worse when they found out his sleeping arrangements**.**

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

**'Are you up yet?' she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**'Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on ****Duddy's**** birthday.' **

"They made you cook, Harry?" Mrs Weasley asked with a frown. Harry nodded his answer.

**Harry groaned.**

**'What did you say?' his aunt snapped through the door.**

"He didn't say anything." Ginny growled at the book and then blushed embarrassingly.

**'Nothing, nothing...'**

**Dudley's birthday - how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider **

Ron flinched on the floor in front of Fred and George where he was now sat. Fred and George looked at each other guiltily. They hadn't realised that there prank had effected their brother this badly.

**off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, **

"Harry, how can you be used to spiders." Ron said after flinching again. Fred and George simultaneously slid down the coach and onto the floor next to Ron. They both wrapped their arms around their little brother who was squirming trying to get away.

"We're sorry, Ron." They said in unison.

"It's alright, really. Don't worry. You prank was only the start of my fear. It grew worse in second year." Ron explained and flinched at he remembered Aragog.

**because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them,**

"Why did you keep your socks under the stairs?" Bill asked curiously. Harry shook his head before burying it in his Godfather's fur knowing what was coming.

Dumbledore read ahead and gulped nervously knowing he was going to be shouted out for his decision.

** and that was where he slept.**

"WHAT." Mrs Weasley shouted as she jumped off her seat. Mr Weasley was trying to pull her back into her seat but failing. Remus was shaking with anger in his seat. He still had Harry in his arms so didn't jump up to shout along with Mrs Weasley.

"You said he would be safe, Albus." McGonagall stated to Dumbledore.

"I thought he would be. I thought Petunia would take care of her nephew." Dumbledore explained.

Harry suddenly whipped his head back and glared at Dumbledore.

"Why? Why would she? You knew she hated my Mam? Why would she take care of me?" Harry said.

"Do you still sleep in the cupboard, Harry?" Remus asked concerned. Harry shook his head. "How old were you when you started sleeping in the cupboard?" Remus asked less concerned after learning that he didn't sleep there anymore.

"I don't remember. Although, knowing the Dursley's, probably the night they found me on the doorstep." Harry whispered. Remus looked up at Dumbledore and glared a death glare at him.

Dumbledore quickly carried on reading.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. **

Professor Burbage was quickly writing down the muggle technology.

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated****exercise - unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"That somebody better not be you." Mrs Weasley scowled at Dumbledore from her seat.

**Dudley's favourite punching bag was Harry, **

"Oh, Albus, why didn't we check up on him?" McGonagall said sadly as she put her head in her hands.

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

"That's your seeker skills, Harry." Oliver Wood announced and the original Gryffindor team smiled happily.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, **

There were many glares sent from around the hall to Dumbledore who carried on reading.

**but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. **

"No Harry, all the Potter men are small and skinny until their growth spurt in between sixth and seventh year." Remus told Harry who still had his head buried in his Godfather's fur.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's,**

"Oh, Harry." Hermione said pityingly whilst rubbing his back.

"Hermione, I don't want your pity. I don't want anyone's pity. It was a long time ago and I've gotten over it." Harry said after removing his head from his Godfather's fur and leaning against Remus.

**and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was**

"He was as well." Harry said as he burst out laughing.

**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright-green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. **

"You liked it?" Ron asked.

"Yes, it was only until I found out how and why I got the scar, did I start hating it." Harry explained.

**He ****had had**** it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**'In the car crash when your parents died," **

"They lied to you?" Mrs Weasley frowned at the book and Dumbledore.

"Yep." Harry announced popping the 'p'.

"How can you be so chill about this?" Remus asked.

"I've been through this before. I'd prefer if we laughed about it instead of getting angry and shouting at each other." Harry explained to the hall.

**she had said. "And don't ask questions.'**

"How are you supposed to learn?" Hermione, Minnie and the Ravenclaws asked shocked.

**Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the ****Dursleys****.**

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

**'Comb your hair!' he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

Fred and George burst out laughing and Harry understood why.

"No – don't you dare." Harry shouted at the twins.

"Oh come on Harry." Fred whined.

"You know when we get an idea-" George said

"you can't tell us not to do it." Fred finished and both pouted at Harry.

"Fine." Harry huffed.

"Thanks Harry."The twins sang in unison.

"What are you planning to do?" Ron asked confusingly.

"You'll have to wait and see." The twins sang again.

People were looking at each other with looks of confusion on their faces.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way - all over the place.**

"'The Potter Curse', that's what your Dad called it." Remus whispered in Harry's ear. Harry looked up into Remus's eyes and smiled. Harry liked learning new things about his parents.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel**

"More like a pig in a wig." Jim snorted and the hall burst out laughed even the Slytherin's had a hard time suppressing a smirk.

** - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Most of the hall burst out laughing again.

"You're like Dad." Al whispered into his brother's ear. He was still sat close to his brother.

"Shush, guys." Ted hissed into the two brother's ears and then glanced at his father. "He might be able to hear you."

Jim and Al looked at Remus who didn't seem to have heard them because he was preoccupied with comforting Harry who was leaning against him.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his ****presents****. His face fell.**

"What's wrong with him?" Charlie asked.

**'Thirty-six,' he said, looking up at his mother and father. 'That's two less than last year.'**

"Even I don't get that many." Draco Malfoy announced shocked.

Many people glared at him.

**'Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy.'**

**'All right, thirty-seven then,' said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began ****wolfing**** down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

"Good idea Harry, save the bacon." Ron announced proudly.

The hall started laughing.

"Really Ronald." Hermione said annoyed shaking her head.

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, 'And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today.**

"Now he'll expect more next year." Mrs Weasley said shaking her head at the Dursleys parenting techniques.

**How's that, ****popkin****?**

The hall laughed at the nicknames Harry's Aunt used on his cousin.

**Two more presents. Is that all right?' **

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, 'So I'll have thirty... thirty...'**

"He can't even do basic mathematics." A muggle-born from Ravenclaw announced disgusted.

**'Thirty-nine, ****sweetums****,' said Aunt Petunia.**

**'Oh.' Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. 'All right then.'**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

**'Little tyke **

"He's encouraging him, again." Mrs Weasley announced again.

**wants his money's worth, just like his father. Atta boy, Dudley!' He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. **

Professor Burbage was rushing to write everything down as Dumbledore spoke.

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

**"What happened?" Charlie asked. **

**'Bad news, Vernon,' she said. 'Mrs ****Figg's**** broken her leg.**

"Is that Arabella Figg, Sir?" A third year Hufflepuff asked.

"Yes, Miss Jackson. Why do you ask?" Professor Dumbledore asked curiously.

"She's my grandmother's sister. She's a squib. We go and visit her about twice a year. She always shows us this photo album of all the cats she's ever owned. There are hundreds of them." She explained.

"I know. There's Mr Tibbles,-" Harry said looking at Miss Jackson.

"Mr Paws,-" Miss Jackson continued.

"Snowy,-" Harry continued as well.

"Tufty,-" Miss Jackson said.

"Oh my personal favourite was Sir Kitty von Fluffington." Harry said and he and Miss Jackson burst out laughing.

"You should owl me when you go next, I'll pop round. I haven't looked at the photo album for over year and I'm sure she has updated it. What's your name?" Harry asked Miss Jackson.

"Oh… erm… Kathryn." She answered whilst she blushed. She had just realised she had just had a conversation with Harry Potter.

** She can't take him.' She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies.**

Professor Burbage once again wrote quickly on her parchment.

**Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. ****Figg****, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage **

"Oh, I forgot about the cabbage smell. It makes me feel sick." Kathryn announced.

**and Mrs. ****Figg**** made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

**'Now what?' said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. **

"How could you have planned it?" Charlie asked.

**Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. ****Figg**** had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at ****Tibbles****, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and ****Tufty**** again.**

**'We could phone Marge,' Uncle Vernon suggested.**

The twelve new students burst out laughing.

"Is that the Aunt you-" Ron started.

"Yes." Harry interrupted as he glared suspiciously at the new students.

"Why are you laughing?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Oh, nothing, Harry." Frederick said with a smirk.

Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the new students. 'Do they know he blew up his aunt?'

**'Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy.'**

"Well the feeling's mutual." Harry muttered.

"What did she do?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She implied that Mam was a bitch." Harry whispered to Remus and Snuffles.

"She did what?" Remus jumped up and shouted whilst grabbing his wand. He started pacing in front of Harry and Snuffles was growling from Harry's lap.

"It's alright, she was punished." Harry smiled innocently as Remus sat back down.

"What did you do?" Remus smiled at Harry proudly.

"I'm not telling. You'll have to wait until the third book." Harry said and laughed when Remus and Snuffles pouted.

**The ****Dursleys**** often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there - or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

Ron shuddered as memories of himself throwing up slugs entered his mind.

**'What about ****what's-her-name****, your friend - Yvonne?'**

**'On vacation in Majorca,' snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**'You could just leave me here,' **

"Oh Harry, did you really think that would work?" Hermione asked.

"No but it was worth a try." Harry explained

**Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

"She always looks like she's swallowed a lemon."Harry muttered.

Ted, Jim, Al and Lilia nodded their heads in agreement before realising they weren't supposed to know about Harry's Aunt Petunia. Harry was getting annoyed at the new students' strange behaviour and decided he was going to have to talk to Ron and Hermione about it.

**'And come back and find the house in ruins?' she snarled.**

**'I won't blow up the house,' said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"They never do." Harry said to no one in particular.

**'I suppose we could take him to the zoo,' said Aunt Petunia slowly, '...and leave him in the car...'**

**'That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone...'**

"He cares more about the metal death trap then about you, Harry?" Mrs Weasley asked in horror.

"I hope that was a rhetorical question because I would have thought the answer was obvious by now." Harry snapped angrily. He was sick of people pitying him and hoped they would hurry up and get past this chapter. Mrs Weasley looked taken aback by Harry's attitude.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"Oh the little devil." Ginny muttered under her breath. Harry heard and smiled at her which made her blush bright red.

**'Dinky ****Duddydums****, **

The hall burst out laughing again at Dudley's ridiculous nickname.

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!' she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

**'I... don't... want... him... t-t-to come!' Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. 'He always ****sp-**** spoils everything!' He shot ****Harry**** a nasty grin**

"Bastard." Ginny muttered a little louder this time.

"Ginevra, watch your language." Mrs Weasley shouted at her daughter who just rolled her eyes.

** through the gap in his mother's arms.**

**Just then, the doorbell rang - 'Oh, good Lord, they're here!' said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers ****Polkiss****, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"That shut him up quickly. Doesn't want to be seen crying by his best friend." Ginny giggled along with most of the hall.

"If Piers was really his best friend he shouldn't mind seeing Dudley cry and Dudley shouldn't hide his feelings from Piers either. Best friends are supposed to be there for you during the hard times." Luna said dreamily. Many heads throughout the hall nodded in agreement.

Hugh and Rosemary, however, were glaring at Ron who was sat guiltily on the floor remembering last year when he wasn't there for Harry during the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the ****Dursleys****' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

**'I'm warning you,' he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, 'I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas.'**

"When's Dudley's birthday?" Remus asked nonchalantly.

"23rd of June." Harry mumbled waiting for Remus to get angry but Remus remained calm. Harry thought that Remus was waiting until there was a break to go off somewhere private and just curse everything in sight.

**'I'm not going to do anything,' said Harry, 'honestly.'**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the ****Dursleys**** he didn't make them happen.**

"Ooooh, accidental magic." Mr Green, the second year Ravenclaw, said excitedly.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left 'to hide that horrible scar.' **

A lot of the girls looked like they were going to be sick.

**Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, **

"I hope for his sake I never meet him." Ginny mumbled. Only Lupin and Ted heard her. Lupin smiled at the loyalty Ginny showed Harry. Ted, however, started coughing. Once he had calmed down he whispered to Jim, Al and Lilia what Ginny had just said and laughed at the memory of Ginny and their uncle Dudley's first meeting.

Remus could hear Ted telling the other three and made a mental note to ask Sirius if he knew anything about the new student's who seemed to know a lot about Harry.

**who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and ****sellotaped**** glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

"Your Aunt should have known it was accidental magic. She would have seen Lily do it when she was young." Lupin muttered angrily. Harry snuggled into Remus' side to comfort him.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls) **

"EW." Many girls and a few boys said sickly.

**- The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"Good." Remus said into Harry's hair which was tickling his face.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. **

"Wow. How'd you get up there?" Ron asked curiously.

"I flew." Harry answered coolly but started to worry as many of the faces around him became shocked. "What? I bet loads of Wizards can fly." Harry defended himself.

"Actually Harry, the only recorded Wizard to be able to fly was Merlin." Hermione explained to Harry who was too shocked to say anything else.

**Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. The ****Dursleys**** had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in ****mid-**** jump.**

"Seriously Harry,-" The twins said together.

"We know you're light-" Fred began.

"but you're not light enough-" George said.

"for the wind to blow you-" Fred said.

"on top of a building." George finished.

Most of the hall laughed at Fred and George's twin speak again.

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. ****Figg's**** cabbage-smelling living room. While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favourite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"I think he likes complaining about Harry." Draco blurted out again. The hall glared at Draco but stopped when Harry started laughing.

"Yes, he loved it." Harry said.

**'... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums,' he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

**'I had a dream about a motorcycle,' said Harry, remembering suddenly. 'It was flying.'**

"Oh Harry." Hermione said shaking her head.

"I know, I know. I was just excited to be going to the zoo." Harry explained.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic ****beet**** with a moustache: **

The hall started laughing at the description.

**'MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!'**

"Yes they do." Most of the hall shouted amusingly.

**Dudley and Piers ****sniggered****.**

**I know they don't," said Harry. 'It was only a dream.'**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the ****Dursleys**** hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The ****Dursleys**** bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. **

"Well at least they got you something to eat." Mrs Weasley said.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they ****watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

The hall burst out laughing as they pictured a gorilla with blond hair.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the ****Dursleys**** so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting him. **

"Good thinking Harry." Charlie smiled at him.

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his ****Knickerbocker**** glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

"Wow mate, it was your lucky day, two ice-creams." Ron said seriously making those who knew about Ron's eating habits laugh.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"Great," Remus sighed sarcastically. "What happens now?**"**

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**'Make it move,' he ****whined**** at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass,**

A sixth year Slytherin gasped. "He shouldn't do that. He'll scare the poor creature." She said with a frown.

Most of the Gryffindor's had to stifle a laugh as most of the Slytherin's nodded in agreement.

**but the snake didn't budge.**

**'Do it again,' Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

"If I was a snake, I wouldn't give them the satisfaction." Anne said speaking for the first time aloud.

**'This is boring,' Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

"Ungrateful Bast-" Ginny started before being interrupted.

"Ginevra, what did I say about your language?" Mrs Weasley shouted at her daughter who blushed slightly.

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"Did you just compare yourself with a snake Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Yes, I think I'm going to be doing that a lot in the books." Harry answered guiltily.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**It winked.**

"Snakes don't wink." Minnie said confused.

"Well this one did." Harry told her.

"But they can't-" Minnie started to explain before Harry interrupted her.

"Well this one can."

"Yeah, but snakes don't have eyelids." Minnie tried to explain again but she obviously wasn't going to change Harry's mind.

"Well this one did." Harry said angrily glaring at Minnie.

Dumbledore decided to carry on reading before the argument carried on.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. **

"Why would you wink back?" Frederick asked laughing.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do." Harry snapped still slightly angry with Minnie.

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: 'I get that all the time.'**

**'I know,' Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. 'It must be really annoying.'**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

"This is unbelievable." Tonks said amazed.

**'Where do you come from, anyway?' Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**'Was it nice there?'**

"You're such a polite boy, Harry. Even to a snake." Andromeda complimented.

"Erm, thanks Mrs Tonks." Harry replied nervously.

"Oh, Harry dear, please call me Andromeda." She told him.

"Ok, Andromeda." Harry smiled at her.

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on:**

**This specimen was bred in the zoo. 'Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?'**

"Poor snake being locked up for its whole life, must be horrible." Luna sighed.

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. '****DUDLEY****! MR. ****DURSLEY****! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!'**

"As I said, unbelievable." Tonks repeated herself. A few people laughed.

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

**'Out of the way, you,' he said, punching Harry in the ribs. **

Harry rubbed his ribs remembering the pain and Remus gave Snuffles another worried look.

**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. **

Snuffles growled but stopped when Harry started stroking him behind the ears.

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened **

Most of the hall leaned forward in anticipati**on.**

**- one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

The hall was leaning even further forward eager to know what happened.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. **

The hall burst out laughing.

"Best accidental magic ever, Harry." Neville commented.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, 'Brazil, here I come... **

"That was nice of you Harry helping the Snake escape to follow its dreams of going to Brazil." Luna said in her usual voice.

"It was only an accident." Harry explained.

**Thanksss****, amigo.'**

"What a polite snake." Narcissa smiled. Most people were uncomfortable with having a Malfoy commenting but Harry just awkwardly smiled back.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

**'But the glass,' he kept saying, 'where did the glass go?'**

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, 'Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?'**

"Great, now you're in for it." Fred and George said together.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell us." Ron said a little annoyed.

"He didn't tell you he was a parseltongue." Jim laughed slightly shocked not having being told this before by his father.

"When did you find out?" Rosemary asked Ron trying to hide her laughter.

"When did you find out?" Harry asked the 12 new students confused as to how they knew so much about him when he had only known them about an hour.

"We've always known." Lilia answered innocently.

"How do you know so much about me when I know nothing about you?" Harry asked trying to get some answers.

"That's a secret for now." Minnie said repeating her earlier statement.

"But we've already promised to tell you who we are at the end of the books." Lewis added on.

"Well, that is if you haven't guessed who we are by then." Al smiled at Harry with the smile he wore when looking at Dumbledore or Snape.

"Or if this idiot reveals who we are." Ted laughed and pointed at Frederick who pouted.

"Don't worry Harry, You'll find out eventually." Vicky added on at the end before Dumbledore started reading again.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, 'Go - cupboard - stay - no meals,' **

"No meals." Ron gasped. "How did you survive?"

"I got fed just not actual meals. Just bits of food every now and then." Harry explained.

**before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

** Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

"Oh and I also snuck into the kitchen." Harry smiled proudly. "It's why I'm so good at sneaking around Hogwarts after hours." Harry whispered loud enough for Ron to hear.

**He'd lived with the ****Dursleys**** almost ten years, ten miserable years, **

"Dramatic much, Potter?" Draco sneered but Harry just ignored him.

**as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash.**

Remus and Snuffles growled at the lies Harry had been told.

**He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light **

"You remembered the 'Avada Kedavra' spell?" Remus asked shocked.

"Just bits of it." Harry muttered not wanting to go into too many details.

**and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. **

Harry's vision started to blur with tears. He leant back into Remus and felt his arms pull him in tighter.

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

"You didn't know what Lily and James looked like." Remus stated rather than asked.

"Not until I saw them in the mirror." Harry confirmed.

"What mirror." Remus asked confused.

"It'll be in the book." Harry laughed.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; **

"You know that if I had known how you were treated I would have come for you, no matter what Dumbledore told me." Remus whispered to Harry who just nodded.

**the ****Dursleys**** were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once ****while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley.**

"That was Dedalus Diggle; I met him once in the leaky cauldron." Harry said remembering the odd man.

**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"They didn't vanish Harry, they just disapparated." Hermione explained.

"I know that now." Harry told her making her blush slightly.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"They shouldn't have followed your cousin, Harry. It's much better to be a leader than a follower." Luna told Harry happily.

"Thanks Luna." Harry smiled at his strange Ravenclaw friend.

"That's the end of that chapter. Who would like to read next?" Dumbledore asked whilst looking around.

"I'll read." McGonagall announced as she flicked her wand and the book flew from Dumbledore's hand to hers. She glanced at the title. "This chapter is called 'The letter's from no one'."

* * *

**Hoped you enjoyed Chapter 2.**

**My friend who read through this before I uploaded said she was getting a bit confused with the different false names used by the 12 new students... SO at the end of every chapter (If I remember) I'll put a list of the person and their false name.**

**Teddy Lupin = Ted Luper**

**Victorie Weasley = Vicky West**

**Dominique Weasley - Minnie West**

**Louis Weasley = Lewis West**

**Fred Weasley II = Frederick Weaton**

**Roxanne Weasley = Anne Weaton**

**James Potter = Jim Potts**

**Albus Potter = Al Potts**

**Lily Potter = Lilia Potts**

**Rose Weasley = Rosemary Wells**

**Hugo Weasley = Hugh Wells**

**Scorpius Malfoy = Scott Martin**

**If you have a question about anything just leave a review and I'll answer in the next chapter.**

**Please Review x**


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